Why are there designer files (*.designer.cs) in ASP.NET MVC?

Question

What's the point of the auto-generated 'designer' files in ASP.NET MVC Web Apps?

I'm trying out ASP.NET MVC (coming from ASP.NET Webforms projects), so I'm used to just having the one code file with each ASP.NET markup file (.aspx, .ascx etc.). Can I use the code beside model with MVC Apps instead as less files seems simpler?

Thanks.

Answer 1

The designer.cs files are a hold over from Web Application projects (which MVC is a derivative of). Along with the regular code behind files, they are no longer needed with the latest MVC RC.